Category: care orders

‘Partner Oliver Gravell and trainee solicitor Georgia Wright, of Birketts LLP, examine MPs support for a young woman who was seeking to deny parental rights to a man who raped her, as they are demanding a change to the Children Act 1989. Gravell and Wright look at the legal issues surrounding parental responsibility.’

‘Imogen Powell, of Ashfords LLP, writes that parental responsibility is a concept introduced by the Children Act 1989. The Act defines PR as “all the rights, duties, powers, responsibilities and authority which by law a parent of a child has in relation to a child and his property”. As the phrase suggests, the concept of parental responsibility serves to highlight the idea that parents have “responsibilities” or “duties” towards their children, as opposed to “rights” over them.’

‘In AH v CD and others [2018] EWHC 1643 (Fam), [2018] All ER (D) 162 (Jun) an application by a father who sought his son’s return to Spain, after the child was taken out of the jurisdiction by his mother, raised issues under the 1980 Hague Convention, and also as to the discharge of a care order made by a court which had not been told of the child’s father’s whereabouts. Richard Jones, barrister at 1 Garden Court Chambers, explains the issues.’

‘The following opinion of an Advocate General in the European Court of Justice (NB not the European Court of Human Rights at Strasbourg) is an interesting investigation as to how the courts of two different EU Member States work together to deal with the situation where parents have unlawfully removed their children from one country to the other – together with some strong criticism of how those countries failed to abide by important procedural safeguards to protect the rights of both the parents and the children.’

‘Following A Local Government v A and others [2018] EWHC 1819 (Fam), a hearing involving the death of a baby in suspicious circumstances, Gemma Taylor QC at 42 Bedford Row and Samantha Bowcock at 15 Winckley Square Chambers, stress the importance of disclosure of relevant material in care proceedings and examine the steps that police and local authorities should take in order to avoid compromising a case.’

‘Family analysis: What factors should parties take into consideration in identifying realistic placement options for a child at the start of care proceedings? Sam Momtaz QC and Sharon Segal, of 1GC|Family Law, examine the Court of Appeal decision in P-S (Children) (care orders) [2018] All ER (D) 118 (Jun) that a Family Court judge had been wrong to make full care orders rather than special guardianship orders (SGOs) in respect of two children.’

‘The family justice system is in crisis, fuelled by an “untenable” workload created by a glut of applications to take vulnerable children into care, the senior judge about to become the next head of the family courts has said.’

‘Family Division president Sir James Munby, who has long argued for allowing the ‘glare of publicity’ in to family courts, says some cases should not be debated under the public gaze, as he denied a mother the chance to take her case to the ‘court of public opinion’.’